Flu widespread but may be waning, 29 children dead

Flu activity remained high in the United States through Jan. 13 but is decreasing in some areas, numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday show. Twenty-nine children have died as a result of the flu since the beginning of the season.

While there's no national reporting system for adult flu-related deaths, CDC said that 8.3% of deaths reported in its 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to pneumonia and influenza. That's above the epidemic threshold of 7.2%. The rate of deaths linked to pneumonia and flu the week before was 7.3%.

Forty-eight states reported widespread geographic influenza activity, but is beginning to wane in some areas, CDC said.

In other flu news, the company that makes Tamiflu, an antiviral drug used to lessen the severity of flu in those exposed to the virus, has released reserve stocks to lessen shortages in some parts of the country.

"With the addition of these reserve supplies, we anticipate having sufficient supply of Tamiflu capsules to meet demand for this flu season," said spokeswoman Tara Iannuccillo.

The liquid form of the drug, given to children because they can't easily swallow pills, that has been difficult to find. Genentech, of South San Francisco, has worked with the Food and Drug Administration to get more 75 mg capsules of the drug on the market in the United States, Iannuccillo said. Pharmacists can mix the contents of the capsules with a sweet liquid to make a drug children can take.

The company is also working to get new shipments of the liquid form of Tamiflu "to distributors as new supplies of this formulation become available," Iannuccillo said.

There have been localized shortages of flu vaccine as people scrambled to get vaccinated. The CDC anticipates there will be enough vaccine available for everyone who wants it but that they might have to try several providers to find someone with it in stock, said spokesman Tom Skinner.

Next year's flu season should bring more vaccine and more vaccine options. FDA has approved a new flu vaccine that is grown in cells, rather than fertilized chicken eggs. Called Flublok, it will be produced by vaccine manufacturer Novartis. The cell-culture technology "will improve the reliability and flexibility of supply for future seasons" said spokeswoman Sarah Coles. The technology is already being used to make other FDA-approved vaccines.

A vaccine grown on cells rather than in chicken eggs is not only faster but is also accessible to the 600,000 Americans estimated to have egg allergies according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. The allergy is most common in children and 70% of people outgrow the allergy by age 16.

It will also make the vaccine accessible to strict vegans who eat absolutely no animal products, including milk, eggs and honey.